UnitedHealthcare and the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers have announced a $15 million strategic partnership to develop, test and scale new models of care for patients with complex health, behavioral and social needs.
The Camden Coalition is a nationally recognized leader in the design of innovative programs that improve care for high-need patients facing complex medical and social challenges. Inefficient and ineffective care of these patients has been identified as a primary driver of unnecessary health care spending.
UnitedHealthcare has long understood the connection among health, quality of life and key social determinants, such as employment, housing, transportation and financial stability. The company established its myConnections community-based services model to address these factors in an integrated, holistic manner.
The partnership will bring together Camden's community-based expertise with UnitedHealthcare's resources and broad national footprint to develop scalable, sustainable solutions that integrate medical, behavioral and social services for the country's most vulnerable and complex populations.
The company also announced that Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, founder and executive director of the Camden Coalition, will join UnitedHealthcare as senior vice president, Integrated Health and Human Services, to lead myConnections, which will operate as a formal business division within UnitedHealthcare Community & State.
"By partnering with the Camden Coalition, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make a transformational impact on our health, behavioral and social service systems," said Austin Pittman, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community & State. "Dr. Brenner's passion and commitment to bringing sustainable health care to our most vulnerable people make him an ideal leader to further build and integrate our myConnections approach across UnitedHealthcare's entire portfolio."
"Dr. Brenner's longtime leadership in improving care for complex patients has put the Coalition on firm footing to sustain and increase momentum long into the future," said Kim Barnes, chair of the Camden Coalition Board of Directors and senior vice president at Lourdes Health System. "The financial support from UnitedHealthcare will enable the Coalition to continue to develop and improve models to deliver better care to residents of New Jersey, and share our learnings with others nationwide."
"This partnership is poised to create the first comprehensive, scalable and sustainable solution for one of society's biggest challenges – reforming the health care system to make it work for its most complex and vulnerable people," said Dr. Brenner.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
About the Camden Coalition for Healthcare Providers
The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers is a citywide coalition of over 25 hospitals, primary care providers and community organizations working together to deliver better health care to vulnerable citizens in Camden, NJ. Founded by Dr. Jeffrey Brenner in 2002, the Coalition knits together a fragmented health care system for patients with complex needs and repeated, ineffective and expensive hospitalizations, using smart data and holistic, multi-disciplinary team care. We believe if we can deliver better care at lower cost here in Camden, it can be done for everyone, everywhere in America.
About myConnections
Today myConnections is touching lives in Arizona, Michigan, New York and North Carolina through flexible-format myCommunity Connect centers and targeted data-enabled outreach. This on-the-ground presence in communities has enabled the creation of strategic partnerships with a broad spectrum of service providers – from faith-based and charity organizations to public sector entities – and has helped identify areas of critical need at local levels.
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